Who cares what he thinks? He had a chance to earn a long term contract by sacking up before his contract year. If he played as hard in 05/06 & 06/07 as he did in 07/08, he would still be with the Pens. Shero and Therrien probably took a longer term view of his professionalism (or lack thereof) rather than looking only at last season.

The contrast between Vinny & Marty StL now and what they were around their Cup run is pretty striking. Still plenty of talent, but the coordination and kill has gone down. TB is going to need a couple years of the same lineup and a different coach to get themselves back together. Stamkos is raw, but you can see the potential. All that said, while I'm sure the paycheck is very reassuring, Malone's seen this type of nebula before while he was here and may have to live and work through more disappointments than he thought.

Malone needed to cash in while he could. His value had peaked and he couldn't risk taking a contract at a lower value, especially if he were to have a terrible season or injury. He did the right thing in financially securing his career and family. Bugsy was a class act and I hope things work out with the Lightning. With that said, I wouldn't be surprised one bit if he returned to the Pens one day in the future. If at a lower price, I wouldn't object.

Why they are playing Stamkos on the 4th line, I can't figure it out. Put him up on the top two lines. The kid has skill. See what he can do. Malone has been atrocious for them. Their defense took a major hit when they traded Dan Boyle (one of the stupidest trades I've ever seen). Boyle is one of the best defensemen in the game. He is a game changer. They trade him to San Jose for the centerpiece being Matt Carle and then they just trade Carle to Philly.

That franchise is reminding me a lot of the Milbury run Islanders. It's a joke.

Eismann wrote:The contrast between Vinny & Marty StL now and what they were around their Cup run is pretty striking. Still plenty of talent, but the coordination and kill has gone down. TB is going to need a couple years of the same lineup and a different coach to get themselves back together. Stamkos is raw, but you can see the potential. All that said, while I'm sure the paycheck is very reassuring, Malone's seen this type of nebula before while he was here and may have to live and work through more disappointments than he thought.

I don't know about that with Vinny and Marty. Vinny is twice the player now than he was in their cup year. He came out of the lockout a different player.

Why they are playing Stamkos on the 4th line, I can't figure it out. Put him up on the top two lines. The kid has skill. See what he can do. Malone has been atrocious for them. Their defense took a major hit when they traded Dan Boyle (one of the stupidest trades I've ever seen). Boyle is one of the best defensemen in the game. He is a game changer. They trade him to San Jose for the centerpiece being Matt Carle and then they just trade Carle to Philly.

That franchise is reminding me a lot of the Milbury run Islanders. It's a joke.

They are a joke.

Before the season I was decrying some of the moves they were making. Among them was overpaying Malone. I can't blame him for cashing in. It'd be foolish not to. But that team has become a parody of an NHL franachise. Malone may have flash backs to his X-Generation Penguin days on that sqaud.

I also remember for years, while on TV, Melrose would say, " You can't make a cake out of icing ", referring to building a team only with offensive minded players. So what does that team do? Supplements Lecavlier, St. Louis, Prospal, and Stamkos with guys like Recchi, Vrbata, Jokinen, and Malone. Malone is probably the best suited for 3rd or 4th line duty, but that would be a waste, especially considering how much money he's making. It seems like Melrose has abandoned his own edict. They signed marginal or over the hill offensive talents like Vrbata, Jokinen, and Recchi, and have no choice but to play them in roles they aren't really suited for. It's absurd.

And the whole Boyle thing ...wow. San Jose's laughing all the way to the win column. Dan Boyle must feel like he won the Powerball, if he's taken the time to look back at the team that he's left behind. Good for him I say. And then, to trade away Carle, this early into the season ...it makes no sense.

Why they are playing Stamkos on the 4th line, I can't figure it out. Put him up on the top two lines. The kid has skill. See what he can do. Malone has been atrocious for them. Their defense took a major hit when they traded Dan Boyle (one of the stupidest trades I've ever seen). Boyle is one of the best defensemen in the game. He is a game changer. They trade him to San Jose for the centerpiece being Matt Carle and then they just trade Carle to Philly.

That franchise is reminding me a lot of the Milbury run Islanders. It's a joke.

They are a joke.

Before the season I was decrying some of the moves they were making. Among them was overpaying Malone. I can't blame him for cashing in. It'd be foolish not to. But that team has become a parody of an NHL franachise. Malone may have flash backs to his X-Generation Penguin days on that sqaud.

I also remember for years, while on TV, Melrose would say, " You can't make a cake out of icing ", referring to building a team only with offensive minded players. So what does that team do? Supplements Lecavlier, St. Louis, Prospal, and Stamkos with guys like Recchi, Vrbata, Jokinen, and Malone. Malone is probably the best suited for 3rd or 4th line duty, but that would be a waste, especially considering how much money he's making. It seems like Melrose has abandoned his own edict. They signed marginal or over the hill offensive talents like Vrbata, Jokinen, and Recchi, and have no choice but to play them in roles they aren't really suited for. It's absurd.

And the whole Boyle thing ...wow. San Jose's laughing all the way to the win column. Dan Boyle must feel like he won the Powerball, if he's taken the time to look back at the team that he's left behind. Good for him I say. And then, to trade away Carle, this early into the season ...it makes no sense.

Keep overpaying for players and you get what you pay for. Another fat cat that won't produce. He had his 15 minutes of fame. I hope he enjoys the sunshine in Tampa. It won't be long that he will be packing for parts unknown.

Why they are playing Stamkos on the 4th line, I can't figure it out. Put him up on the top two lines. The kid has skill. See what he can do. Malone has been atrocious for them. Their defense took a major hit when they traded Dan Boyle (one of the stupidest trades I've ever seen). Boyle is one of the best defensemen in the game. He is a game changer. They trade him to San Jose for the centerpiece being Matt Carle and then they just trade Carle to Philly.

That franchise is reminding me a lot of the Milbury run Islanders. It's a joke.

They are a joke.

Before the season I was decrying some of the moves they were making. Among them was overpaying Malone. I can't blame him for cashing in. It'd be foolish not to. But that team has become a parody of an NHL franachise. Malone may have flash backs to his X-Generation Penguin days on that sqaud.

I also remember for years, while on TV, Melrose would say, " You can't make a cake out of icing ", referring to building a team only with offensive minded players. So what does that team do? Supplements Lecavlier, St. Louis, Prospal, and Stamkos with guys like Recchi, Vrbata, Jokinen, and Malone. Malone is probably the best suited for 3rd or 4th line duty, but that would be a waste, especially considering how much money he's making. It seems like Melrose has abandoned his own edict. They signed marginal or over the hill offensive talents like Vrbata, Jokinen, and Recchi, and have no choice but to play them in roles they aren't really suited for. It's absurd.

And the whole Boyle thing ...wow. San Jose's laughing all the way to the win column. Dan Boyle must feel like he won the Powerball, if he's taken the time to look back at the team that he's left behind. Good for him I say. And then, to trade away Carle, this early into the season ...it makes no sense.

Saw 5 had just come out. Koules was distracted.

Well at the rate those Saw movies are coming out, Koules stands to be distracted all the time. The Saw franchise is going to catch the Friday the 13th, Halloween, and Nightmare on Elm Street franchises (maybe cumulatively) before 2009 is in the books.

Guido wrote:Malone needed to cash in while he could. His value had peaked and he couldn't risk taking a contract at a lower value, especially if he were to have a terrible season or injury. He did the right thing in financially securing his career and family. Bugsy was a class act and I hope things work out with the Lightning. With that said, I wouldn't be surprised one bit if he returned to the Pens one day in the future. If at a lower price, I wouldn't object.

I could secure my family for what the Penguins could have paid. How many millions do you need to secure your family? If I got 10-15 million over the next 5 years, I could retire, live in a nice house and golf every day for the rest of my life.

This Tampa team reminds me of the Penguins the year after the lockout.

They came out and threw a bunch of money around, expecting it to work, and they loaded up on offense.

No team with a defense that porous is going to go anywhere in this league. They took what was already a questionable unit and made it even worse with a bad trade for Mezaros to start the year. The entire Dan Boyle thing was a fiasco as well.

I love watching their new management fail. They came out so cocky and tried to act like they were about to make a cup run. Things don't work that way, Sally.

Jesse wrote:This Tampa team reminds me of the Penguins the year after the lockout.

They came out and threw a bunch of money around, expecting it to work, and they loaded up on offense.

No team with a defense that porous is going to go anywhere in this league. They took what was already a questionable unit and made it even worse with a bad trade for Mezaros to start the year. The entire Dan Boyle thing was a fiasco as well.

I love watching their new management fail. They came out so cocky and tried to act like they were about to make a cup run. Things don't work that way, Sally.

I used to(a few months ago) think they were on their way to being good. After seeing everything this management has done, I'm skeptical. It seems like they figure out the "fix" that makes the least sense, and try it.

I'm hoping that he continues to dissappoint on the score sheet. Then, the Lightning can take a page out of the Oakland Raiders play-book and cut him like DeAngelo Hall. At that point Malone and Shero can recreate the scene from 10 where Dudley Moore and Bo Derek run towards each other. They don't kiss, they just sign the deal Malone should get from the Pens. This would logically conclude by us winning the Cup in Game 6 at home vs. Detroit and Hossa would be photographed in the Wings uni sitting along the boards in an eerie recreation of the pic below